I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France
Chapter 191 Shire’s Student

Chapter 191: Chapter 191 Shire’s Student

Paris City Defense Command, Gallieni woke up before eight as usual.

Unlike his usual routine, he didn’t rush to the office. He gazed out at the torrential rain, the wind howling outside, accompanied by thunder, as dense raindrops washed the ground.

Gallieni sighed softly, wishing the rain could flood the House of Representatives and wash it away.

Yesterday, Gallieni believed he should make a final effort for Shire’s tanks, as they meant victory and the soldiers’ lives.

Therefore, he went to the House of Representatives uninvited to request a speech:

"Shire’s tanks and his tactics have been proven in combat. Recently, the First Tank Brigade has been training intensively around Shire’s tanks with notable results."

"We now have a complete infantry-tank coordination tactic. I believe these tanks can defeat the enemy!"

"Shouldn’t we use tanks that have proven effective instead of buying a bunch of failed products?"

...

Before he could finish, the audience started to cause a commotion:

"They have been improved. They are no longer failed products!"

"The enemy knows all about Shire’s tanks. They have developed better tanks specifically to counter them."

"Lack of artillery is the biggest weakness of the ’Mark I,’ while the enemy’s tanks have cannons. How can we defeat cannons with machine guns?"

...

The final result was self-evident: Shire’s tanks did not win subsequent orders, while the ’Saint Chammon’ and CA-1 each received an additional 200 units.

The words of the representatives seemed reasonable, but they couldn’t hide the absurd truth: the failed tanks got the orders, while the successful ones did not.

Incredible, ridiculous!

Gallieni collected his thoughts, turned around, and walked towards his office.

As he passed by Shire’s desk, Gallieni called out softly, "Come here, Major!"

"Yes, General!" Shire stopped what he was doing and followed Gallieni to the desk.

Gallieni sat down, opened a drawer, took out a file, and handed it to Shire, his expression blank: "These are the improved CA-1 tanks and the ’Saint Chammon.’ They’ve received more orders. I want to know if they still have problems."

Shire opened the file and skimmed through it: "The CA-1’s engine has been upgraded, the armor thickened, and its speed increased to 8 km/h!"

"Yes!" Gallieni explained, "They believe this speed will allow it to avoid long-range artillery bombardment in time. As you said before, tanks need a certain level of maneuverability."

Shire grunted, his eyes still on the data in the file: "Indeed, but simply increasing the front armor from 11mm to 17mm is not enough!"

"What do you mean?" Gallieni looked at Shire in puzzlement: "Your ’Mark I’ tank also has 17mm front armor. I believe they are learning from your tank."

"I know!" Shire looked up at Gallieni: "But General, when our tank armor was 11mm thick, the Germans developed K shells that could penetrate 13mm steel. Now our tank armor is 17mm thick..."

Gallieni understood instantly: "They will invent stronger penetrating equipment!"

"Yes!" Shire nodded: "Although I don’t know what it is, just as they said, the Germans will do everything to counter my tanks."

This was not the whole truth; he knew the Germans probably already had anti-tank rifles ready.

Gallieni sighed inwardly, hoping that the Germans aimed to use artillery to penetrate the 17mm armor, rather than something else!

After frowning and pondering for a while, Gallieni asked again, "Then what about the ’Saint Chammon’?"

"The ’Saint Chammon’ has undergone many improvements," Shire continued flipping through the file: "Besides upgrading the engine and reducing the weight, it also lengthened the tracks and redesigned the roof, adding several more hatches."

Lengthening the tracks was to enhance its passability.

Changing the roof from flat to slanted was to prevent German grenades from staying and exploding on top.

Adding more hatches was due to the previous battle where the ’Saint Chammon’ got stuck in a crater. The side doors were blocked and couldn’t be opened, preventing the crew from escaping in time.

Gallieni supplemented: "They also added small wheels to the protruding front and rear!"

There was no need to elaborate on why they added small wheels; naturally, it was to prevent the elongated body from getting stuck in craters or trenches.

Shire waved the file in his hand and asked, "But does this help? Have they passed the military’s tests?"

Gallieni responded impassively, "If the last ’Saint Chammon’ could pass the military tests, why couldn’t this improved version?"

Shire understood. The so-called "military tests" were not worth mentioning. After all, this was a project supported by Xia Fei and the Automotive Technical Service Department. If it couldn’t pass the "military tests," wouldn’t it be a joke?

Shire finally gave this evaluation: "Increasing the order is fine, but it’s best not to deploy them on the battlefield."

Gallieni remained silent, his face showing some helplessness.

Shire read the meaning in Gallieni’s expression: "They already plan to deploy them on the battlefield, don’t they?"

Gallieni nodded slowly: "You should know their mentality. Your tanks succeeded while theirs failed. They are eager to prove themselves and want to outshine your tanks."

Gallieni added another sentence: "At least some of their confidence comes from you, Major!"

"What do you mean?" Shire didn’t understand.

"They not only learned from your tanks!" Gallieni’s mouth showed a hint of disdain: "This includes tactics. I believe they have copied your battle experience from Lafox."

Shire laughed bitterly; they intended to outdo Shire by learning from him?

They didn’t think about paying for the lessons, stealing the teacher’s methods, and then trying to oust the teacher, all while learning only half of it!

"Moreover!" Gallieni added coldly: "They plan to deploy the First Flight Squadron to participate in the combat."

Shire’s expression changed instantly: "No, they can’t do that!"

"They can!" Gallieni replied, his eyes showing a hint of anger: "This is an order from the Commander-in-Chief of France. If necessary, they can even deploy the First Tank Brigade. They haven’t done so yet because they want to defeat the First Tank Brigade and prove it to everyone!"

Shire suddenly realized they probably thought the reason his tank unit easily won at Lafox was largely due to the First Flight Squadron.

So, this battle had to involve the flight squadron, even if it was the one Shire had formed!

(The two images above compare the ’Saint Chammon’ before and after the upgrades. The most noticeable change is the roof design, from flat to slanted, which might prevent grenades from staying and exploding on the roof.)

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